5 Questions After ... STP 400



Now that the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway is over, it is time to figure out a few things.  Yes, there are five burning questions that I have and I am sure that you can guess what the first one is going to be, right?

Here we go…

(Drum Roll) When will Rick Hendrick get his 200th win? …  Okay, so it seemed as if there was a BIG chance that the Hendrick race team was going to “get ‘er done” this weekend and it just didn’t happen. Unfortunately, they came up just two positions short of the checkered flag with Johnson trailing race winner Hamlin and Truex Jr. This will now make three weeks in a row that “win 200” has been so close yet eluded them.  Next stop is Richmond where both Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson have three wins, Gordon has two and Kahne has just one.  Can they finally get it done … guess we will see.


Will the three hometown boys ever win at home or are they just cursed on their own turf? … Bowyer, Edwards and McMurray have NEVER won at their home track – are they cursed? Hopefully not but fate has not been on their side. Bowyer had engine trouble and didn’t finish the race; Edwards finished ninth but never seemed to get up front; and McMurray finished 14th but really didn’t pose a threat to actually win. At some point this should change, right? Who knows? We will just have to keep waiting and watching.


Is there an engine/fuel goblin in Kansas or did the weather just cause massive drama? … There were several drivers who had major issues due to the weather conditions.  It was predicted to be around 72 degrees on Sunday; however, Mother Nature decided otherwise. The engine/fuel goblin grabbed ahold of polesitter AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer (DNF), Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte (DNF) and Mark Martin (DNF).  Should the race have really been moved to April vs. June? Probably not but the track has to undergo their repaving project which started the next day after the Cup race.  We will see how the October races turn out … stay tuned.


Repaving work – will this make the racing even more exciting? … So, I realized the work needed to be done due to this HUGE chunk of track that I got to see over the weekend, but will it really make a difference in the excitement level of the racing in Kansas? Three words … I don’t know.  Enough said. 


Starting from the pole in Kansas – is that really a great thing? … Statistically speaking, there have only been two drivers who’ve won from the pole position in Kansas (Nemechek/2004 & Johnson/2008).  In both the Cup & Truck series this weekend, neither one of the pole sitters captured the checkered flag.  We know what happened to AJ Allmendinger (Cup); Tim George Jr. finished 17th (Trucks), so you do the math.


Bonus Questions: Will the Gibbs organization beat Hendrick to win 200? … How many drivers will be friends once they leave Richmond? … Who will be leading in points standings?


Opinions expressed are those solely of the author
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Unique Hiram is an Associate Editor/Contributing Writer for Skirts and Scuffs. Additionally, she is also the author of "Fast Lane Poetry" which was published April 2011. Unique can be contacted via email or through Twitter.
5 Questions After ... STP 400 5 Questions After ... STP 400 Reviewed by Unique Hiram on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Rating: 5